The “Good News” of 2020

For many people, 2020 was a difficult year. 2020 endured the onset of a global pandemic, job losses, and an increase in hunger and food scarcity. Up until March, the number of families experiencing food insecurity were declining in the United States. In 2019, 10.5% of households experienced hunger and scarcity. In 2020, however, that number increased to 23% of households.

As I have read and studied data provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it is hard to combat feelings of hopelessness.

I accepted my position as the G4G Ministries Inc. Director in June of 2020, as the pandemic began to really affect households and individuals. As a hunger relief agency, it is heart wrenching to actively watch the number of families who suffer from hunger steadily rise.

As I prayed against hopelessness, the Lord nudged me and sweetly reminded there is hope in Him always.

This is the truth I am clinging to as we exit 2020: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

2020 was hard. It would be a lie to say otherwise. It was ever-changing, and it, often, forced me to my knees. It threw curveballs, and it changed the trajectory of so many lives. However, our Jesus is constant.

As we continue into 2021, G4G Ministries Inc. will continue to live by His word. We will continue to meet the needs of our brothers and sisters throughout North Carolina communities, and we will continue to fight against hunger in our state.

Isaiah 58:10 – “If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.”

Please pray with us at G4G Ministries for each soul encountered in our communities. Pray that we continue to be the hands and feet of Jesus… for His glory alone. Lastly, consider joining us as we safely serve those suffering throughout Iredell County and beyond.

In accordance with prayer, I ask that you also celebrate with us. While 2020 was, no doubt, a difficult year, it is important to take a step back and reflect on the “good news” of 2020 as well.

 

Your mail in donations from 2020 will feed 11,934 individuals. Thanks for your generosity!

Companies like Harvey Holdings Inc. and 106.9 The Light allowed us to cater their events. Their trust in G4G Ministries Inc. will feed 653 individuals.

The 10th Annual Golf Tournament will feed over 8,000 individuals.

G4G Ministries submits grants year-round. This year, the grants awarded to our nonprofit will feed 9,395 individuals.

 

We look forward to continuing our partnership with each of you in 2021. Have a very happy New Year!

 

Ed’s Story

At G4G Ministries Inc., we feel called and equipped to feed individuals living in poverty and food scarcity. While the Lord’s hand is in every action, there are times in which we see our Heavenly Father at work in mighty ways. It is in these moments the Father stops us in our tracks and forces us to recognize the incomparable love and care He has for His children.

In November of this year, we served the community at Compare Foods on Front Street located in the heart of Statesville. While serving, one of our faithful volunteers met a very special individual who goes by “Ed.”

Our G4G volunteer walked over to a nearby motel where he met disabled individuals with warm plates of grilled chicken, coleslaw, beans, bread, and homemade dessert. It was there, he found Ed. Ed was disabled and unable to walk without assistance. Additionally, Ed had been fighting a longstanding battle of addiction.

Engineered by the hand of our Father, G4G Ministries Inc. shared parking lot space with another ministry that Saturday: Recovering Soldiers Ministries. RSM operates with the mission “to funnel broken men and women whose lives have been stolen by addiction into faith-based recovery centers where they are mended by Christ; having the chains of their addictions broken.”

Over a plate of grilled chicken, our volunteer spoke with Ed about the redeeming power of Jesus Christ. It was in his motel room that Ed made the decision to surrender his life over to Christ.

Since that Saturday in November, Ed has been to a detox center and is doing well. He is leaning into the Lord and continuing to pursue a sober life.

I love our Father’s heart. I love that He calls each of His children to serve alongside Him, regardless of our past, our baggage, our humanity, and our wandering hearts. I love that throughout scripture, the Lord redeems the most broken of humans and commands them to follow Him. And I love that he calls us His.

Community Feeding Events: Fall 2020

G4G Ministries Inc. has been busy over the course of the past month. Since September 19th, we have participated in three Community Feeding Events, as well as our 10th Annual Golf Tournament! While COVID-19 brought an abrupt stop to much of normality, the reality is that hunger has not ceased. If anything, we have seen a rise in food scarcity and felt called to meet the basic needs of those in our community during a trying time.

By creating a safe environment for those we feed, we have been able to continue “glorifying our awesome God by serving and ministering to those in need physically and spiritually with our mobile grilling and ministry impact team.” Drive-through feeding events have been implemented over the course of the past few months. Alongside our team of volunteers, board members, and our Father, G4G Ministries Inc. fed our brothers and sisters at various locations throughout September and the beginning of October. In total, we had the privilege to assist the Lord in feeding 865 individuals throughout our community.

On September 19th, we partnered with Statesville Parks and Recreation at The Bentley Center! While the surrounding residents had the opportunity to beautify their community center, we were able to supply food to individuals who may not receive adequate nutrition or warm meals at this time.

The following weekend, on September 26th, we set up our mobile grills at Iredell Christian Ministries. The location was “new” for G4G Ministries Inc., and we were grateful for the opportunity! Two of our faithful volunteers, Mike and Adeline, regularly volunteer for Iredell Christian Ministries throughout the week. It was the two of them who suggested the location and led our team in preparing for the event! What a blessing it was to watch volunteers with a heart for G4G Ministries Inc. take their volunteering to a whole new level by leading an event!

Lastly, this past weekend, on October 10th, our volunteers joined us in feeding our brothers and sisters at Compare Foods on West Front Street! In the pouring rain, cars lined up to receive their warm grilled chicken plates! As we served every bit of the prepared food, we left with a grateful heart and an understanding that the Lord provides in all circumstances. We look forward to serving at Compare Foods again soon as we can reach a wide range of residents and community members!

As the dust settles from our four-week stint of events, we are thankful for a Father that loves His people and lavishes an astounding grace upon us all! We cannot wait to continue serving the community through a warm meal as November approaches soon. Join us as we congregate once again to meet basic needs and express the love of Jesus on November 14thUntil then, please continue to pray for the Lord’s hand to be in every detail of G4G Ministries Inc.

 

G4G Tenth Annual Golf Tournament

On the first Friday of October, G4G Ministries Inc. prepares for its annual fundraiser. Individuals save-the-date each year, knowing we will host our G4G Ministries Golf Tournament. This year, on October 2, 2020, we celebrated our Tenth Anniversary of the beloved event!

Larkin Golf Club worked tirelessly to help us accommodate 17 teams, while making each individual feel safe despite the current pandemic. As the teams started arriving at 11am, they were greeted by the smiling faces of Dawn Foxx and Tamara Sherrill. At registration, they were handed a “Golfer’s Goody Bag,” complete with G4G logo embossed golf balls and a mason jar of the special G4G Chicken Rub! Additionally, the golfers received bagged lunches with freshly grilled cheeseburgers, hotdogs, and other good eats that they were able to enjoy before the tournament or while on the course.

Familiar faces caught each other up on life, work, and families as they awaited the 1pm shot-gun start. After receiving their welcome speech and praying as a whole unit, the golfers were led to the course. Throughout the day, sponsors of the tournament were met with their company signs. Every hole featured a company sponsor and their logo in vibrant colors! The golfers and volunteers were blessed a beautiful day, temperatures in the 60’s, and they relished in the sunshine!

Throughout the tournament, golfers attempted to win prizes galore! Various companies donated exciting hole-in-one prizes, such as a Harley Davidson Bike from Tilley’s Harley Davidson, a 2020 Jeep Renegade from Black Automotive Group, a John Deere Gator from James River Equipment, and a cash prize from Larkin Golf Club. Additionally, golfers were playing for a $500 Nike Gift Card, a vacation for four at Lajitas Golf Resort and Spa in Lajitas, Texas, and a choice of Swing Caddie SC200 Portable Launch Monitor or an L4 Laser Rangefinder with Scope. While, unfortunately, no one took home a hole-in-one prize this tournament, we have full faith our golfers can win such a prize in the future!

At the end of the day, golfers gathered around to see the reveal of each other’s scores. The 50/50 raffle winner was announced, and a brand-new player went home with the money! Additionally, longest drive, closest to the pin, and the winning teams were announced! They received engraved YETIs, announcing their winnings in the most practical of ways, as well as a G4G cooler, a free round of golf, and other inclusions.

As we parted ways, each golfer, volunteer, and Larkin Golf staff member left the tournament with a whole G4G grilled chicken! Many of our returning teams look forward to the chicken each year as it is freshly grilled and rubbed with our super-secret recipe!

Most importantly, each donation helps fund future G4G Ministries Inc. events. Early results indicate this tournament, and your generous donations, will feed THOUSANDS during the final months and into 2021. We praise the Lord for each donor, volunteer, and supporter of this ministry. We look forward to utilizing these generous gifts to feed our brothers and sisters throughout Iredell County and beyond. Thank you one and ALL.

Back-to-School Bash 2020

1 Corinthians 12:12-14
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.”

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G4G Ministries participates in an annual partnership with Kintegra Health, surrounding churches, Food Lion, and willing volunteers every year for the Statesville High School Back-to-School Bash. This year, we grilled 2,200 hot dogs and supplied a warm lunch to those who were picking up donated school supplies for the approaching school year.

In the raw heat of summer, the volunteers sported a variety of patterned masks and gloves. As hot dogs came off the grill, our six assembly lines worked tirelessly to put together the 2,200 bagged lunches. Each car that drove through the COVID-friendly event was met with a smile, a drink, and a warm meal. After the cars and individuals exited our lot, they were directed to the school supply volunteers.

At G4G Ministries, we live for our weekend grilling events. As we take our mobile grilling and ministry impact team to low-income neighborhoods, we see the Lord’s hand in bringing his mission to fruition. We truly believe he called us, at G4G, to feed individuals who are forced to go without. However, there is an indescribable BEAUTY in watching the Lord’s people come together for his overall Kingdom. As people of different talents, organizations and backgrounds gathered together this past Saturday, we were able to meet a mission that was undoubtably bigger than any of us could have dreamed!

Grace, in and of itself, is a perfect reminder that we were not called to do it all on our own. Today, I am especially grateful for the various backgrounds, stories, and life experience that led each individual to be the hands and feet of Jesus on earth. How humbled I am to have seen a small glimpse of the many parts of Christ’s body working together, as one, this past weekend!

In Him,
Layn Tallent Thomas

 

 

Fifth Street Ministries

Lately, I have been feeling the Father pull me towards Exodus 3. That specific chapter has always left me in awe. However, as I have stepped into the position of ‘Director’ with G4G Ministries, I continue to see the revelation of “I AM” come to life.

For context, in Exodus 3, God sends Moses to Pharaoh and commands him to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. Knowing that facing Pharaoh is a daunting task, Moses doubts his capability and asks who he should say sent him to free the Israelites from their oppression.

“God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14)

“I AM has sent me to you.”

The Lord was aware of their suffering. He desired to deliver them. He was to be known throughout all generations according to Exodus 3:7-15. God revealed himself as present and would always be present with His people, ready to intervene on their behalf. “I AM” indicates a God who is eternal, constant, and unchanging. “I AM” cannot be defined by human construct.

How grateful we are at G4G Ministries to be serving a God who longs to free his people from oppression and hunger – one meal at a time!! A Father that cannot “fit inside a box”, but a Father who exceeds all expectations and meets our needs whether it be physical, spiritual, or both.

This past Saturday, July 18th, 2020, we watched the Lord’s hand show up in the smallest of details once again as we fired up the grills. Fifth Street Ministries has been a steadfast partner of G4G Ministries Inc. since our humble beginnings in 2008. We are so grateful to Fifth Street for their generosity in allowing us to use their property space this past weekend. Additionally, they met us with smiling faces of encouragement and helping hands throughout the morning.

Because “I AM” called many of you to financial benevolence, we had the means to feed over 250 individuals from the shelter and surrounding communities. Pastor Katie prayed over individuals and families, alike, and we saw Jesus come to life through our volunteers. Our morning ended in group prayer and a testimony from one of our faithful volunteers that moved many of us to tears.

“I AM” will continue to show up for his people, whether G4G Ministries is in existence or not. However, we are THRILLED to have a front row seat to see the work of our Father in Iredell County and beyond.

In Him,
Layn Thomas
Director of G4G Ministries Inc.